Pack to Moat: Week 15-16

Hello everyone!

After taking a week off after SCG Providence I got back into the trading world and had a fantastic week of trading! By the end of the week I am very seriously discussing the exact cards that will finish off this project, so I am very excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel! When I started this project, I thought it was going to be hard to get the project started, but then it would be easy to finish because I would have such good stuff. While starting was tricky, finding the cards that I need to acquire is actually very difficult, and then actually being able to make the trade work is a whole additional challenge. Regardless, this was a very prolific week for trading!

May 9, 2012

My:
Killing Wave (1.64)

His:
Desolate Lighthouse (2.66)

Net: +1.02

Neither of these cards are seeing much of any play, so this is just one of the small steps you have to take just to accumulate value.

My:
2x Chinese Foil Vapor Snag (6.00, 12.00)

His:
Geralf's Messenger (6.30)
Isolated Chapel (8.15)

Net: +2.45

I thought my trade partner was just dumb when he put Messenger at 6, so I snap went with it, but as it turns out he was right! I may have been able to value the snags at 7 each, but I find with pimping cards that people have a pre-determined cap on what they are willing to pay and if you break that barrier and then come back down they may decline, even if it is lower than their desired threshold.

May 16, 2012

My:
Laboratory Maniac (0.50)
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (3.86)

His:
Kaalia of the Vast (5.98)
Sunpetal Grove (2.94)
Dragonskull Summit (3.49)

Net: +8.05

Laboratory Maniac was on the front page of my binder with the other throw away cards, but this guy was legitimately looking for one. He set up this trade himself, and I liked it alot, so I was glad to go along with it! I think Kaalia should be an easy move because how good she just got with Avacyn Restored (specifically Avacyn and Griselbrand). The other duals are just normal liquid.

My:
2x Splinter Twin (4.01, 8.02)

His:
Vexing Devil (11.58)

Net: +3.56

I was very excited to make this trade work! Because we are no longer in the Modern season, I was worried that Splinter Twin would be impossible to move, and getting a hot card from Avacyn Restored is always a nice return! I have seen a lot of mono-red decks popping up recently, and Vexing Devil is just so good in it!

May 17, 2012

My:
Dragonskull Summit (3.49)
Hymn to Tourach (1.81)
Infernal Tutor (5.68)
Golgari Grave-Troll (3.13)
Undiscovered Paradise (7.54)

His:
Sorin, Lord of Innistrad (22.66)

Net: +1.01

One of my friends who I haven't seen in a while messaged me on facebook inquiring about the binder. I have made trips twice before out to Dunks to do some trades out of the pack to moat binder, and he always brings a friend or two which really helps! I thought Sorin was still 25 or 28 when I did this trade, so I snapped it up immediately, but even though my net was less, having more 20+ cards is really important as I try to move up the chain. The most valuable card I moved was an 8, so it made my binder look a lot more valuable than the value actually moved. My friend is working on Dredge, which is why I picked up the dredge cards a while back. Knowing someone specifically who wants certain cards is always incredibly helpful!

My:
Isolated Chapel (8.15)

His:
Phyrexian Metamorph (7.50)
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (3.86)

Net: +3.21

This was the other trade that happened at Dunks, and I think this might be the 7th Thalia I have had come in? She hasn't moved more than 25 cents her whole lifetime, but she constantly sells like hotcakes! If you never know what to trade for in someone's binder, Thalia is always reliable. Metamorph is a good card that is seeing a lot of play as standard is all about trumps, so playing lots of clones always maintains parity and keeps the race close

May 18, 2012

My:
Blue Sun's Zenith (0.81)

His:
Dungrove Elder (3.37)

Net: +2.56

I was really glad to be able to finally move USZ! I thought it would be easy to ship, but that has been far from the truth! Dungrove isn't seeing any play either, but it is worth more and it is the best card in its archaetype, so if someone wants to build that deck, this is the first card they will acquire.

My:
Thalia, Guardian of Thraben (3.85)

His:
Ratchet Bomb (6.24)

Net: +2.39

And the next day, Thalia moves to a new home. Ratchet Bomb may be a liability now because tokens are much easier dealt with via Terminus and Bonfire of the Damned, but it's a fine utility card. Hopefully I can ship it quickly though, as I don't think there is any upside to the bomb. This time of year Scars block cards will start sinking slowly in anticipation of rotation.

May 19, 2012

My:
Natural Order (35.13)

His:
Darkslick Shores (14.42)
2x Copperline Gorge (8.6, 17.2)
Isolated Chapel (8.2)

Net: +4.69

I had 2 Natural Orders that I unhappily acquired from the Force of Will, so now I have to ship them as soon as I get the opportunity. I wound up going to a legacy tournament saturday (small review to come) and afterwards a guy saw the NO and mentioned he had 3 Visions ones and 1 Portal one, so he wanted to get the arts right. I wasn't too thrilled to get Standard Duals for it, but having 1 is a much smaller liability than 2, and these duals are much much easier to move! The only bad thing is that the individual value of cards takes a small hit which can fight against the case a little.

My:
Chinese Show and Tell (45)
Gaea's Cradle (69.27)

His:
Tarmogoyf (98.18)
Phantasmal Image (13.35)
Bonfire of the Damned (17.63)

Net: +14.89

After that trade, there was one guy left to trade with in the room. He had all beta cards (though played horrifically) so the Chinese Show + Tell caught his eye. He only had 3 Dark Confidant (46.8) and 4 Tarmogoyf for big cards, and the original version of the trade had just Gaea's Cradle and a Bob instead of the Goyf. He wanted the Show and Tell and I said I could 1-for-1 the goyf in for the bob. After many deliberate minutes of thinking he finally obliged. I'm SO glad he did, because I might not have accepted if he was only willing to ship the Bob as it is worth so much less than Cradle!

10 Trades
Week 15-16 Net: +43.83

So obviously obtaining a Tarmogoyf is HUGE for me, however Matt (the guy who has the moat) said he doesn't care about Goyf, so now it will have to make itself into a blue Dual Land, which Matt actually wants.  At this point I have passed the $300 threshold that is Moat, and now I just need to get the right stuff. I may be doing a few more trades where I lose value as long as I am getting something big and significant back. My goal is to get things like blue duals, Force of Will, and Wasteland, so those may start showing up more frequently now in trades. After 4 months of trading it is crazy to see this all slowly coming to a close!

That's all I have for today! Until next time, stay classy!

Ryan Lackie
Ryan.Lackie92@gmail.com
@ThingsILack